Romancing The Stone / Jewel Of The Nile Twin Pack (UK)

FILMS: Set in 1984 and 1985 respectively, Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile are almost direct follow-ons from each other. Both films star Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, the trio with seemingly endless chemistry. RTS was directed by Robert Zemeckis and JOTN by Lewis Teague. RTS is all about a stereotypical `Jesse James` style hero called Jack T. Colton (Douglas), who accidentally meets up with romance novelist Joan Wilder (Turner) in the jungles of South America. Wilder`s sister Elaine has been kidnapped, so Wilder must take a supposed treasure map (El Corazon) to her captors as a kind of ransom demand... in Columbia. However, all is not as simple as it seems... Joan is faced with a number of dangers, notably the ever persistent Zolo, who is after the map in order to locate the stone, a beautiful and flawless emerald. She is also pursued by Ralph (DeVito), who is one of the captors, intent on making sure the map reaches it`s destination. RTS is brilliantly directed by Zemeckis, moving at a fast pace with a trim running time of 101 minutes. The score by Alan Silvestri also stands out and really kicks in during the frequent action scenes. Jewel of the Nile is made in a similar vain, with the trio once again in pursuit of a jewel, although this time in a more metaphorical sense; the `Jewel` of the Nile is actually a miracle man, who is sacred to his people. After Joan is lured into Africa to write a book for Omar Kalipha, she soon finds herself in great danger, as Kalipha is a certified mad man. He wants Wilder to write a book that proves he is well and truly the Africa`s miracle man. Look out for the awe inspiring finale, where Kalipha tries to prove his powers with the aid of a cockney special effects expert. The whole plot centres around Colton and Ralph`s efforts to rescue Joan, as the two decide they must forget their past and team up (at least for a little while). Again, JOTN has a running time of 101 minutes which is just the perfect length for such a film. Although both films included are great, it is my humble opinion that Romancing the Stone is the better of the two.
PICTURE: Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic.
Both movies are presented in their original theatrical aspect ratios, which is a real treat for those of us who are used a grainy pan and scan version on VHS. RTS is probably the cleaniest looking of the two (only just) with little or no grain whatsoever with fabulous colour and resolution (especially on a 16x9 display!). Both prints are virtually immaculate; the only problem I could find was with JOTN`s sandy desert scenes, where frequent sandstorms showed signs of pixellation. For movies from the mid eighties, RTS and JOTN look fantastic though.
SOUND: Dolby Stereo 2.0.
Again, nothing major to complain about; apart from not being 5.1 soundtracks, both are excellent examples of an effective stereo set up. I found the music in particular to be loud and bassy, although the gunshots and such in both movies are a little bit muffled and crackly. Dialogue is always clear and precise without any noticeable distortion too. Overall, JOTN has an ever so slightly better sounding audio (better as in a bit louder and tighter on the bass).
EXTRAS: Films that normally feature only theatrical trailers get a dodgy 1 out of 10 in most of my reviews. However, the trailers are well made, extremely funny (especially JOTN`s) and are definately worth a second look, so I`ve added an extra point on.
OVERALL: Great movies, great presentation. If the lack of extras p***es you off, then the amazing value for money will make you smile again (I picked up a copy over the internet for £14.99 delivered to my door!).

I picked this up in the January sales for a tenner… so am feeling pretty pleased with myself at the moment. I hadn't watched either film for a good few years until this first viewing of the DVDs, and was not disappointed.

I had very found memories of both these films from when I was a child. Watching them again was hugely enjoyable both for the positives (witty scripts, some great 'action' set pieces, and the chemistry between the two main leads) and the negatives (laughable special effects, mostly from The Jewel of the Nile).

As long as you don't take either of these films seriously, they are hugely enjoyable. It's a pity that the discs themselves are not as good. Visuals and audio are ok - but nothing more, and we only get a trailer for each film. The menus themselves are easy to navigate and it's nice to see that at least a little effort has been put into them (somewhere slightly above the bare minimum)!

Overall, a nice package especially given the price at the moment, but it would have been nice to have a few more extras to beef up these rather bare discs.